NEXT Exhibition

Events, Performances and Exhibitions

Discover the NEXT: A Celebration of Student Art

Held every spring, NEXT is a dynamic, interactive and innovative end-of-year show that gives D.C.’s art community the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art from fresh perspectives. Visitors have the opportunity to observe thesis critiques and discussions between students in the fields of studio arts, art history, decorative arts and design history, interior architecture, design, dance, theatre, music and museum studies and faculty, while students are able to build connections with potential employers and art dealers.

What is NEXT?

The NEXT exhibition is the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design's annual celebration of the brilliance and promise of its students. Each degree program at the Corcoran requires students to successfully complete an end-of-year project and then collaborate with other programs to present a building-wide exhibition in the Corcoran's many gallery spaces.

These projects may take many forms—from written research papers to a series of paintings. They all represent a culmination of a student's learning experiences at the Corcoran and a glimpse of future promise. Students exhibit their theses on the walls of the Corcoran School and present pictorial and oral presentations of their projects to an audience of their peers, faculty and the George Washington University community.

Held every spring, NEXT is a dynamic, interactive and innovative thesis show located in the Corcoran's historic Flagg Building. NEXT gives D.C.’s art community the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art from fresh perspectives. Visitors to NEXT have the unique opportunity to observe thesis critiques and discussions between students and faculty and to gain insight into the visual form-making process. It's also an opportunity to connect GW students with potential employers and art dealers.

In this new era of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, we will be incorporating all of the Corcoran School creative disciplines including the arc of events. This year promises to be a very eventful year. Over the course over a month, we will be hosting performances, symposiums, lectures, and of course our annual exhibition.

What is this year's NEXT logo?

We often speak about momentum: gaining momentum, losing momentum, finding new momentum. We generally mean that we’re on a roll, but in physics momentum is literally mass in motion. Momentum isn’t simply the speed at which something is moving but the force at which it charges forward. Momentum derives from the Latin momentum, which directly translates to moving power.

At the Corcoran, our students are moving powers. Our momentum catapults us in new and unexpected directions. Creativity fuels our momentum and galvanizes change. For students over the last few years, and particularly for the class of 2019, our relentless momentum has revolutionized the spirit of the Corcoran while preserving the soul of our institution. That's why we've selected In Motion as this year's NEXT logo design.

“The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design is in a constant state of reinvention. We are always striving to extract the best from our students and to prepare them for a lifetime of creative engagement and cultural leadership. In the years ahead the Corcoran will continue its commitment of providing a platform to celebrate making, to push intellectual boundaries, and to shape the future of culture."

2019 NEXT 180 COMPETITION

Inspired by Pecha Kucha, this tournament will feature 18 speakers. They will present rapid-fire creative presentations for just three minutes each, designed to enlighten, inspire and entertain. Students: proposals due 3/1. The showdown begins 4/25 at 5 PM in Hammer Auditorium!

2019 NEXT SYMPOSIUM

The NEXT Symposium presents excellence in student scholarship across the closely-linked disciplines of Art History and Decorative Art & Design History. The close collaboration between these programs provides a platform for thinking through current issues and critical points of discussion as they pertain to scholarship and museological practice in the arts. We invite students to present their research as a way to consider what is "next" in these exciting fields.

2019 NEXT MUSIC CAPSTONE RECITALS

All GW students and members of the public are welcome to attend free concerts by students in GW's Music program. Student recitals showcase the work our students do in individual performance study courses and tie together performance practice and scholarship. These concerts are part of the Music program's NEXT Capstone Recitals, part of the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design's end-of-year performances, exhibitions and lectures that give D.C.’s art community the opportunity to see the latest in contemporary art from fresh perspectives.